Call of Duty: Ghosts (Xbox One Review)

Call of Duty: Ghosts released earlier this month for current generation consoles and later for PlayStation 4; learn more about the Xbox 360 version by reading our original Call of Duty: Ghosts review. Now, it's time for Xbox One to receive the new release with plenty of all new features that make this a game well worth owning for first-person shooter fans. Call of Duty: Ghosts is a great title that features a strong campaign and storyline, addictive online multiplayer modes that players can enjoy for hundreds of hours of logged game time and the all new Extinction game mode, where players will battle against hordes of aliens in cooperative sessions with a horror/science fiction storyline. Call of Duty: Ghosts is plenty of fun, and it's ready for next generation consoles and is best played on Xbox One. However, we also played the game on PlayStation 4 and found it to stand up visually just as well as it does on the Xbox One.

Call of Duty: Ghosts has an amazing single-player campaign that follows two brothers, Logan and Hesh, who fight the evil Federation before they destroy everything they once called home. Call of Duty: Ghosts is full of over-the-top action, incredible dialogue and stunning graphics that few other series can compete with. In Call of Duty: Ghosts, the Federation has managed to hijack a weapon controlled by America in space called Odin, and they destroy a few major U.S. cities in the process. The attack launches an all-out war where an elite group of soldiers called "Ghosts" are sent in to fight the Federation forces and stop further catastrophe. New features are everywhere in Call of Duty: Ghosts such as your new canine companion Riley, who assists you on the battlefield, alongside the new ability to play as a female solider. Players will get around six or seven hours of gameplay with the single player campaign alone, but it is the game's extensive multiplayer that really makes Ghosts worth the money.

The biggest change for Call of Duty: Ghosts from current consoles to next generation consoles are the amazing new graphical capabilities. Call of Duty: Ghosts has beautiful visuals that look dramatically better when compared side by side with current generation versions of the game. Graphics are extremely important for players since you want a game to look just as good as it plays. There's been plenty of talk around the interwebs about the difference in the display of Call of Duty: Ghosts on PlayStation 4, that runs the game on full 1080p display, and Xbox One, which features 720p display enhanced for the best picture quality. After testing out both versions of the game, the PlayStation 4 version of the game may look just a bit better in still screenshots of the game, but the game runs much more smoother on Xbox One with very few frame drops and other bugs that somewhat plague the experience on the new Sony console.

The next generation of Call of Duty: Ghosts looks amazing and benefits from much improved lighting that is realistic enough to almost confuse the game as real life. Glares can appear on screen and look fantastic in HD in the brightest maps on the game, while shadows are also a big part of gameplay whether the moving shadows of players or the large shadows created by massive trees or skyscrapers in the nearby environments. Sound design is also improved in the new release that takes advantage of new technology to produce the most realistic sounds featured in the Call of Duty series yet.

Xbox One also features one game changing exclusive with the all new controller designed for the console. The controller feels good in the hands of gamers obviously, but improvements to the Xbox 360 model includes greater rumble feedback that makes each gun feel different from others. The distinct feedback is different for each gun and gives players another way to tell the difference from a sniper rifle to a shotgun or submachine gun even without visual and auditory cues. Call of Duty: Ghosts is a game built for console gaming and twin stick controllers, and Xbox One's controller is the popular choice for gamers to get the most out of their next generation, first-person shooter.

Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer has never been better than on the new Xbox One. The improved visuals and sound on the Xbox One takes the experience to the next level in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Ghosts is undoubtedly the best on the market when it comes to its robust variety in multiplayer options. Players will notice immediately that character models are more detailed alongside game environments that are so massive that they seem to go on forever. There are a ton of ways to play online which include the traditional deathmatches where two teams are pitted against one another and tasked with getting more kills than the other. There are also fun new twists on core modes such as capture-the-flag. For example, players can jump into Grind, which is just a slightly modified version of Kill Confirmed, where the only difference is that you have to drop the dog tags off at your headquarters in Grind. One of the better modes was the new Extinction which is a engaging co-op survival experience that has you battling off hordes of Alien invaders. The mode also takes full advantage of Call of Duty: Ghosts' Solider Creation tools to create the perfect person for the job with the ability to choose from 10 characters with six weapon loadouts for each. Call of Duty: Ghosts definitely features greater customization than previous titles with more ways to upgrade, new perks, and the ability to equip even more bad-ass weapons. Another great addition to Ghosts is Squads, the new option allows you to create up to ten soldiers and battle it out against other squads online in a slew of co-op modes. Players are given a ton of new options, that run incredibly smoothly, allowing you to jump from game to game with ease making it insanely addictive to level up and unlock even more great content.

One other distinct feature available to Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One is new Kinect 2.0 support. Fans that choose to take advantage of the new controls can easily navigate in-game menus to quickly jump into sessions of Call of Duty: Ghosts campaign, multiplayer and Extinction without ever picking up the controller. This is most useful when cleaning up the living room or performing some other chore while using the player's voice to set up a new match without the need to carry the Xbox One's controller around the room. There are also a few voice commands that can be used in the match for some unique results that may not be as practical for gamers who are used to playing with a controller alone, but the voice commands are still a cool new feature for Call of Duty: Ghosts to be sure.
CLOSING COMMENTS

Call of Duty: Ghosts has arrived for next generation consoles, and it's best played on Xbox One. It's difficult to say any game is perfect, but Call of Duty: Ghosts comes as close as any game can get. The addictive multiplayer featured in the game delivers non-stop action that all gamers can appreciate. Call of Duty: Ghosts like any game has a few minor issues, but it still manages to be one of the best looking games on next generation consoles, and it's always a fun game to enjoy alone or with friends in versus and cooperative game modes. Call of Duty: Ghosts makes numerous changes from its predecessors to make it the most original release for the series in nearly a decade, and it's possibly the most entertaining release ever released in the entire Call of Duty franchise. Fans who've already purchased Call of Duty: Ghosts on current generation consoles can upgrade to next-gen versions for only $9.99 with a trade-in, so there's no reason not to check out Call of Duty: Ghosts on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 today!

Call of Duty: Ghosts is now available from all major retailers for the MSRP of $59.99 and can be purchased for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC. Call of Duty: Ghosts is rated M by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence & Strong Language. For more information on the game, check out the official Call of Duty: Ghosts website. If you would like to know even more, then check out the full Call of Duty: Ghosts fact sheet right here!